Groundwater crisis in Haryana, 88 of 143 blocks over-exploited

Parveen Arora

Karnal, June 14

The groundwater situation in Haryana has reached critical levels with 88 out of 143 blocks now categorised as overexploited.

Of the remaining, 11 blocks are in critical category, nine blocks in semi-critical and only 35 are in safe category, says the data of the Ground Water Cell, which was earlier part of the Agriculture Department and now is associated with the Irrigation Department.

As per the authorities, if groundwater extraction is up to 70 per cent, it is considered safe, while extraction between 70 per cent and 90 per cent is semi-critical, 90 per cent to 100 per cent is critical, and above 100 per cent is over-exploited.

Among these blocks, seven out of eight blocks of Karnal district have been categorised as over-exploited. Except for the Indri block, the remaining seven blocks—Assandh, Karnal, Gharaunda, Munak, Nissing, Nilokheri and Kunjpura are over-exploited, the data adds.

Besides, three blocks of Ambala, four each of Bhiwani and Faridabad, two of Charkhi Dadri, five each of Fatehabad, Jind, Yamunanagar, Sonepat and Gurugram, one in Hisar, seven each in Kaithal and Kurukshetra, six in Mahendragarh, two each in Mewat and Palwal, six each in Panipat, Rewari and Sirsa are over-exploited.

The authorities said that groundwater resource estimation, now conducted annually, measures recharge from irrigation, rainfall, recharge structures, ponds and withdrawals by consumption, while earlier, it was conducted after every five years.

The Ground Water Cell uses sensor-based piezometers, dug wells and public health tubewells to monitor the water table, measuring levels before and after the monsoon in June and October, respectively.

Experts attribute the drastic fall in groundwater levels to the use of flooded irrigation with the help of submersible pumps in agriculture, which began around 1999-2000, combined with insufficient water management practices.

“Submersible pumps have significantly contributed to the reduction of the water table. The over-exploitation of groundwater resources poses a severe challenge for the future also. Farmers should adopt drip irrigation instead of flooded irrigation,” said Dr Mahavir Singh, assistant hydrologist of Ground Water Cell.

He emphasised the need to implement stricter regulations on water use, promoting water-efficient farming techniques and increasing the number of rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharge systems.

The Irrigation Department and Ground Water Cell are working not only to educate farmers as well as people for groundwater conservation, but also implementing various schemes including Atal Bhujal Yojana, National Hydrology Project, Jal Shakti Abhiyan and others.

Singh also appealed to farmers to switch to crops other than paddy for water conservation.

Experts blame flooded irrigation

Experts attribute the drastic fall in groundwater levels to the use of flooded irrigation with the help of submersible pumps in agriculture, which began around 1999-2000, combined with insufficient water management practices